Does anyone here have Avoidant Personality Disorder...if so, could you share som!

Does anyone here have Avoidant Personality Disorder...if so, could you share some of your symptoms?

Not me, but a friend.

Avoidant personality disorder (APD or AvPD) [1] or Anxious personality disorder (APD) [2], is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and avoiding social interaction. People with avoidant personality disorder often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, or disliked. They typically present themselves as loners and report feeling a sense of alienation from society.

Avoidant personality disorder usually is first noticed in early adulthood, and is associated with perceived or actual rejection by parent or peers during childhood. Whether the feeling of rejection is due to the extreme interpersonal monitoring attributed to people with the disorder is still disputed.

Avoidant personality disorder (APD or AvPD) [1] or Anxious personality disorder (APD) [2], is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation and avoiding social interaction. People with avoidant personality disorder often consider themselves to be socially inept or personally unappealing, and avoid social interaction for fear of being ridiculed, humiliated, or disliked. They typically present themselves as loners and report feeling a sense of alienation from society.

Avoidant personality disorder usually is first noticed in early adulthood, and is associated with perceived or actual rejection by parent or peers during childhood. Whether the feeling of rejection is due to the extreme interpersonal monitoring attributed to people with the disorder is still disputed.

Characteristics of the Avoidant Personality Style:

Comfortable with habit, repetition, and routine
Prefer the known to the unknown
Close allegiance to family and/or a few close friends; tend to be homebodies
Sensitive and concerned about what others think of them. Tend to be self-conscious and worriers
Very discreet and deliberate in dealing with others
Tend to maintain a reserved, self-restrained demeanor around others
Tend to be curious and can focus considerable attention on hobbies and avocations; however, a few engage in counterphobic coping behaviors
Characteristics of the Avoidant Personality Disorder:

Exaggerate the potential difficulties, physical dangers, or risks involved in doing something ordinary, but outside their usual routines
Either have no close friends or confidants or only one, other than first-degree relatives; avoid activities that involve significant interpersonal contact
Unwilling to become involved with people unless certain of being liked; easily hurt by criticism or disapproval
Fear being embarrassed by blushing, crying, or showing signs of anxiety in front of other people
Reticent in social situations because of a fear of saying something inappropriate or foolish, or of being unable to answer a question
Tend to be underachievers, and find it difficult to focus on job tasks or hobbies

The American Psychiatric Association's DSM-IV-TR, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders, defines avoidant personality disorder as a "pervasive pattern of social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following:

Avoids occupational activities that involve significant interpersonal contact, because of fears of criticism, disapproval, or rejection
Is unwilling to get involved with people unless certain of being liked
Shows restraint within intimate relationships because of the fear of being shamed or ridiculed
Is preoccupied with being criticized or rejected in social situations
Is inhibited in new interpersonal situations because of feelings of inadequacy
Views self as socially inept, personally unappealing, or inferior to others
Is unusually reluctant to take personal risks or to engage in any new activities because they may prove embarrassing
Avoidant personality disorder is often confused with antisocial personality disorder; clinically the term 'anti-social' denotes sociopathy, not social inhibitions.


Mnemonic
A mnemonic that can be used to remember the criteria for avoidant personality disorder is AVOIDER.

A – Avoids occupational activities
V – Views self as socially inept
O – Occupied with being criticized or rejected
I – Inhibited in new interpersonal situations
D – Declines to get involved with people
E – Embarrassed by engaging in new activities
R – Refrains from intimate relationships